I know her passion is real. I know the parents care and are ready for change. I hope they all realize a new administration is not going to stop the neoliberal assault on public education – and I hope de Blasio doesn’t end up in the pockets of the fascists who run NYC. This of course points to the problem of reform. The whole system needs to be changed. Reform is actually what brought us to this point. Welfare “reform” put more woman and children on the streets, education “reform” created NCLB.
The path forward needs to be radical (change at the root) systemic change, because even if progressive “reforms” are won, neoliberal capitalists are going to continue to take money out of the system that supports us, they will continue to privatize everything we need to survive.

Diane Ravitch is a tireless advocate for public education. Anyone who wants to educate themselves about the current state of affairs should read her – and then do something about it.

In the final analysis, this is about freedom. Freedom from corporate rule, privatization, the commodification of all things, class war from above.

The attempt to destroy public education is a perverted, de facto social engineering that creates profits for the few (out of our pockets) and will end in the manufacture and control of producers and consumers for the profit of the corporate state – which has no use for citizens or human beings, only resources for exploitation in the pursuit of ever more profit.

Pennsylvania is overrun with cyber charters. There are 16 of them competing for customers, sucking money out of real public schools, supplying a terrible education. Some are under investigation. The legislature protects them because of campaign contributions.

Meanwhile public schools are suffering due to budget cuts while these sham schools make profits.

They have extracted $4 billion from the state’s taxpayers in inflated costs, padded enrollment data, and legislative beneficence. This is legal graft.